What the British say - and what they mean!

shoppie

Thought this might help! :laugh:
http://twitpic.com/4xha23

erxkeel

Very Interesting. ^

rockchick90

haha, part of it is true!
"we'll have lunch sometime" knowiing full well it's never going to happen haha

HeidiMightyRawr

Haha! I think most of them are true for what we say and what we mean! :laugh:

Do others really think "what others understand"??

shoppie

Funnily enough, I think it say Brit versus Euro because its more of a native english speaker versus non-native - i.e. if someone took a lot of the things we say literally they mean something quite different! I would be quite interested in how many Americans also use/ are there similar things they say that mean something quite different??

AmberMagdalena

Well you know the kids have those american slang terms. Saying someone is "bad" when it means they're, like super sexy.

My sisters say "I was sick" which means mad.

But of course we all sound like uneducated hillbillies compared to Brits, anyway. :laugh:

HeidiMightyRawr

Well you know the kids have those american slang terms. Saying someone is "bad" when it means they're, like super sexy.

My sisters say "I was sick" which means mad.

But of course we all sound like uneducated hillbillies compared to Brits, anyway. :laugh:

You should hear some of the brits! Many people over here sound like uneducated people too! :laugh:
We've all heard "bad" as a good thing, and "sick" as a good thing too LOL

AmberMagdalena

Well you know the kids have those american slang terms. Saying someone is "bad" when it means they're, like super sexy.

My sisters say "I was sick" which means mad.

But of course we all sound like uneducated hillbillies compared to Brits, anyway. :laugh:

You should hear some of the brits! Many people over here sound like uneducated people too! :laugh:
We've all heard "bad" as a good thing, and "sick" as a good thing too LOL

Phrase I was sick means like "I was angry to the point of disgust", basically.

In slang terms....lol

shoppie

I have always wondered what 'sick' meant. What about you are sick then? Frustratingly, I even think it varies regionally, never mind by country! I have definitely taken something literally when someone was trying to be ironic/ funny though.

And yeah don't worry, Jerry Springer came and did a UK show once and he managed to find a lovely shower here too :sick:

Carfoodel

oooh they are all sooo true lol - love it.

Booboo78

Here's another tip to add:

What the British say: Lovely weather, ain't it!
What the British mean: This weather is awful, I was just being facetious.
What others understand: Er....but...it's raining heavily?

Yup, sarcasm and weather, it's what we Brits are all about

ciaobellakiss

Haha. Oh the British.

deadbeatsummer

Well you know the kids have those american slang terms. Saying someone is "bad" when it means they're, like super sexy.

My sisters say "I was sick" which means mad.

But of course we all sound like uneducated hillbillies compared to Brits, anyway. :laugh:

You should hear some of the brits! Many people over here sound like uneducated people too! :laugh:
We've all heard "bad" as a good thing, and "sick" as a good thing too LOL

Phrase I was sick means like "I was angry to the point of disgust", basically.

In slang terms....lol

In the UK in slang terms, 'That was sick' can mean 'that was amazing', or 'That was disgusting'.

LauriesTrying2BeFit

im in uk and completely agree with that haha!

BrokenBarbiexoxo

haha I am British and agree with this 100%!!! :laugh:

Spence_

'I have a few minor comments...' (re-write it completely).

Agree with this one. Normally after I've spent hours re-writing a colleague's press release or ad, I'll return it with a 'just a few tweaks...' comment. Wouldn't want to hurt their feelings, right?

Sarah_Wins

Early morning awesome!

determinedbutlazy

I was ready to get up in arms and be all "STEREOTYPING IS BAD AND WRONG AND BLAH BLAH BLAH" but then I read it and agreed with everything on the list.

Bugger.

TheLittleVoice91

Proud to be British! Haha I Love it!

HunterKiller_wechange

What a spiffingly splendid post!

AtticusFinch

Yup, sarcasm and weather, it's what we Brits are all about

.. and damning with faint praise of course. Good article.

I think 'being pissed' is another area for confusion for Europeans and Americans - in the UK that would mean becoming drunk, in the US angry. Let's not even start on 'fanny'. :drinker:

MrsSWW

Yup, sarcasm and weather, it's what we Brits are all about

.. and damning with faint praise of course. Good article.

I think 'being pissed' is another area for confusion for Europeans and Americans - in the UK that would mean becoming drunk, in the US angry. Let's not even start on 'fanny'. :drinker:

... or *kitten*... :smokin:

MrsM1ggins

"can I bum a *kitten*?" Brits hear "can I have one of your cigarettes?"...

MrsSWW

If you get down to the local dialects you could also have what the Northern Irish say as yer man. What we mean is yonder man, or him. What others hear is your man.

Flissbo

haha this is sooo true!

Laura80111

bumpity bump:happy: for later

ScarlettIsSpiffing

ha ha sooo true, I often have to explain what I'm waffling on about to my MFP friends across the pond, maybe this'll help them understand me better

sandrajune72

Haha. Oh the British.

We are a funny bunch! But most of us are lovely! :laugh:

MissMaggie3

Not bad at all!

EmmaM2211

I think I have used almost all of these today...

Another of my favourites - "I was just thinking that" = "I'm going to steal your idea and claim it as my own"